Mosul residents kill two Islamic State suicide bombers

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) – Two suicide bombers of Islamic State were killed Monday before they could blow themselves up in the city of Mosul, a security source was quoted as saying.

Speaking to Shafaq News website, the source said, “two IS members wearing explosive belts managed to infiltrate into al-Owainat village in Rabia district, west of Mosul.”

“The residents were able to kill the pair before they could blow themselves up,” added the source.

Earlier in the day, a security source said that Islamic State militants shot an off-duty policeman dead while spending his vacation at al-Shura, south of Mosul.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced last year liberation of the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul from IS militants, who had captured it in 2014. More than 25,000 militants were killed throughout the campaign, which started in October 2016.

A government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led international coalition, has been fighting the Islamic State group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.

The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. Later on, the group has become notorious for its brutality, including mass killings, abductions and beheadings, prompting the U.S. to lead an international coalition to destroy it.